Latch for furniture-drawers



A. T. WEISS LATCH FOR FURNITURE DRAWERS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC-1B, I913.

ammtoa AZerZ. Pliss UNITED STATE s PATENT OFFICE. I

ALBERT WEISS, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR T0 YAWMAN & ERBE MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

LATCH FOR FURNITURE-DRAWERS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 27, 1921.

To all whom it may concern: Be it known that LLALBER'I T. WEISS, of Rochester in the county of Monroe and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Latches for Furniture-Drawers; and I do hereby declarethe following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and to the reference-numerals marked thereon. My present invention relates to furniture, and more particularly to drawers and casings therefor,such as are used'in filing cabinets for office use, and it has for its object to provide a simple, neat and eflicient latch for holding the drawer in closed position, the improvements being directed in part toward promotin the ease and convenience with which the atch may be released when it is desired to open the drawer. A further object of the invention is to provide a latch construction particularly adapted for use in fire proof metallic furniture having hollow walls, the invention contemplating the use of such a wall at the front of a drawer for housing the latch mechanism. To these and other ends the invention consists in certain improvements and combinations of parts, all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the end of the specification.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is. a vertical central section through the front of a drawer and adjacent portions of its casing or chamber, the same being constructed in accordance with and illustrating one embodiment of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the latch bolt and its mounting plate, detached;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary front elevation of the drawer;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary rear elevation of the drawer, and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged view ofthe parts shown in Fig. 1.

Similar reference numerals throughout the several figures indicate the same parts.

In the present instance, I have illustrated my invention as embodied in a fire proof drawer of the general construction de-* scribed and claimed in my companion application, Serial No. 807,488, and which may comprise a front'wall 1, a bottom wall 2 and side walls 3. The front wall 1 is hollow, be-

ing composed of two spaced plates in the 'vided with rearwardly and inwardly turned flanges 7 on all sides between or within which the lining plate fits. An upwardly turned flange 8 at the top of the lining plate interlocks with and beneath the corresponding flange on the-front plate, but the two plates are otherwise fastened and held together by bolts 9 at the ends of a preferably horizontally disposed handle bar or drawer pull 10 located on the outsideof the wall in the usual position. The lining plate is preferably embossed at 11 to take the attachment of these bolts.

The drawer casing, indicated generally at 12, comprises top and bottom cross pieces 13 and 14 constituted in. the present instance by channel irons, the lower side of the upper piece 13 at the front of the chamber being provided with an aperture 15 adjacent to the bottom or connecting portion 16 of the channel which latter acts in the capacity of a keie er plate, as will hereinafter appear.

oused within the hollow front wall 1 of the drawer is a vertically movable latch bolt 17 carried on a mounting plate 18 which I prefer to weld to the front. plate 4 in order not to disfigure it or interrupt the smooth and regular appearance of its exterior. Flanges 1.9 at the top of the plate embrace the bolt and serve to guide it while a pin 20 at the lower end of the latter works in a slot 21 in the mounting plate in the same capacity. A spring 22 fastened at one side of the mounting plate and having its respective ends suitably engaged therewith and with the latch bolt tends to normally thrust the bolt upwardly.

At its upper end the bolt is bent or turned rearwardly at 23 and thence upwardly and forwardly at 24. The horizontal portion 23 extends through and works vertically in a slot 25 in the rear face of the front wall 1, that is, in the present instance, cut in the interlocked flanges 7 and 8 of the front and lining plates, while the portion 24 enters the aperture 15 when, the drawer is closed and serves as the locking part which engages with the keeper 16 on the casing.

I protected by the An\operating knob or member 26 on the latch late projects forwardly through slots 27 in the mounting plate 18 and front late 4 into proximity to the handle or pul 10 which latter is arranged to span it. It will thus be seen that the latch may be easily and conveniently released by a finger of the same hand which is used to pull t e drawer open and practically with the same move ment.

The latch is com letely housed within and ront; wall of the drawer and particularly in case of fire insures, the drawer being held closed when the effects of heat or sagging floor might otherwise tend to open it and expose the contents.-

1 claim as m invention:

1. The combination with a drawer casing provided with a keeper on one wall thereof and a drawer in said chamber having a front wall embodying a front plate, of a latch bolt movable vertically on said drawer wall in rear of the fronteplate and adapted to cooperate with the keeper, an operating member on the latch bolt projecting through the front plate and a horizontally disposed rigid drawer pull on the extension of the front plate arranged to span the operating member but independent thereof.

2. The combination with a drawer chamber provided with akeeper and a drawer operating therein and embodying a hollow front wall provided with a slot in its rear face, of a latch bolt movable vertically within said hollow wall and comprising a rearwardly and thence forwardly turned ortion, the rearwardly turned portion bemg arranged to project through and operate in the slot in t e wall and the forwardly turned portion bein with the kee er on t e part of the atch bolt.

. ALBERT casing as the locking Witnesses:

WALTER B. PAYNE, RUSSELL B. GRIFFITH.

adapted to cooperate,

T. WEISS. 

